The debate as to whether T.V. is worth watching is, in some ways, a self-fulfilling prophecy. A viewer finds the programming that they want to find.

Those who hearken back to the golden age of television do so viewing it through a rose-colored t.v. screen. They remember the good old days of the physical comedy of "I Love Lucy", the shenanigans of "Leave it to Beaver", the staying power of "Gunsmoke", the groundbreaking comedy of "All in The Family", and the places men had not gone before of "Star Trek."

Syndication and channels such as "Nick-at-Night" have allowed these shows to be aired long past their original production. But the problem some have in this debate is that these are the shows on which they base their premise that T.V. was better years ago.

These shows, by and large, were great. They were groundbreaking for their time, terrific writing, comedic performancesthat have stood the test of time. Who doesn't laugh at the "Vitameatavegamin" commercial from "I Love Lucy"? There were dramatic moments that people still remember to this day. Most people, of the right age, remember the summer when everyone had a guess as to who shot J.R.

We can still relive the moment when Sammy Davis Jr. kissed Archie Bunker or the tense moment when Edith was attacked in her own home. We can laugh at the death of Chuckles the Clown or cry when the whole gang cries at the end of "Mary Tyler Moore" We know word for word what follows the question "what does a yellow light mean? on "Taxi" We know it is "slow down" and what follows is "Whaaat doesss a yelllllllow light mean?"

This where the debate loses steam. Because in syndication and on "Nick" they are only going to show you those classic shows. What they don't show is the television shows from the golden age that stunk. They don't generally run shows like "My Mother the Car," which has become a classic because it was so bad. They don't run shows like "Holmes and Yo-Yo" about a cop and his robot partner. To get an idea about the so-called golden age pick any book about the history of television. Every era has had more than their share of really bad programming.

While the 40's and 50's "Your Show of Shows" and MIlton Berle, the 70's and 80's had Magic Johnson's talk show and The Starland Vocal Band had their own show. This generation has shows like "Friends", "Cheers", "Sienfeld","The Shield", "Rescue Me", "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." For every great show today you could find ten really bad shows from the 40's, 50's and 60's'

And what most who make this argument fail to acknowledge it that while those shows were great, it wasn't always great. "Dallas" ruled the air for years, but was reduced to dream sequences. "Roseanne" was groundbreaking in its comedy when it started, but finished with Moldavian princes. We remember these shows fondly, while we forgive them the moments that they "jumped the shark."

If someone is not finding great television it is because they are not looking for it. They are stuck in an "everything was better back then" mode, without giving the other era's their due for being able to produce truly terrible television.

Whether you're looking at HBO, TNT, USA, NBC or any other network, the quality programming is there to be found.

Learn more about this author, Pete Langenfeld.
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